


build me up from bones

by the_bisexual_disaster



Series: build me up from bones [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bones AU, F/M, Mentions of Death, Mentions of Murder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, gendrys a bit of a dick sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:55:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25424995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_bisexual_disaster/pseuds/the_bisexual_disaster
Summary: “What do you see?” Gendry asked from behind her.“Not much,” Arya replied vaguely. “It’s difficult to see clearly without the proper equipment, so I can’t exactly determine much right now.”“But?” he prompted.Arya flipped the body over as best as she could with Gendry and Tarth’s help. Now, Arya could visibly see the multiple holes in the woman’s clothes and the dried blood that stained the front of her shirt.“Well, fuck,” Gendry sighed. “Looks like we got a murder.”Arya sighed. This was not how she wanted to spend her day.
Relationships: Arya Stark & Daenerys Targaryen, Arya Stark & Robb Stark, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Series: build me up from bones [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1841584
Comments: 10
Kudos: 36





	build me up from bones

**Author's Note:**

> me: i'm going to take a break from writing so i can focus on my courses  
> me, opening a brand new google docs at 10pm: i think the fuck not
> 
> title from build me up from bones by sarah jarosz (which is such a beautiful song that you guys should absolutely go listen to)

The plane ride was long and cramped and Arya was relieved when the plane finally landed and she was able to get up and stretch her legs for the first time in hours. During the flight, she was so lost in her thoughts that she entirely forgot about the contents of one of her bags.

Her six weeks in Dorne were exhilarating. She found a sense of peace almost in working non-stop, but she missed her little apartment in Storm’s End and most of all, she missed her dog, Nymeria. She always felt something missing when she woke up without Nym stretched out beside her. 

She was lost in her thoughts again, her mind drifting off to thoughts about Nymeria and her bed and seeing Dany and Robb again while she passed through security. She was only broken out of her thoughts when a hand grabbed her by the arm forcefully and her defense training kicked in. She grabbed the wrist of the person who grabbed her and twisted her way out of their hold, aiming a kick at their crotch for good measure. She turned around to grab her carryon and was met with a gun pointed at her face.

She sighed. She completely forgot about the souvenir she brought back with her from Dorne. It was a human skull that she uncovered and determined to be from the time of Robert’s Rebellion. She’d brought it back and everything had been fine when she went through in Dorne, but apparently they had problems with it here in Storm’s End.

They’d detained her and brought her to secondary, where they also brought her carryon and her suitcase. This wasn’t her first time being pulled aside for things like this. She sometimes carried some questionable things when she travelled. When she was a Guard, it was weapons. Now, it’s human remains. 

She knew the man who came into secondary just then. Gendry Waters used to be her partner, back when she was still on the Kingsguard. They were thick as thieves and the best team in their unit, until she left suddenly and unexpectedly. She never spoke to Gendry again after that, and she hoped he wasn’t too angry at her for leaving so suddenly. 

When he saw who was waiting for him, he looked shocked and betrayed and Arya felt guilty for hurting him like that. She had to leave and as soon as possible, but that didn’t mean she had to cut ties with him entirely.

He took a seat in front of her and the man, who Arya had determined to be a security agent, stood just behind him.

“Why on earth would they send a Kingsguard to handle a misdemeanor?” Arya asked.

“Well, when they find a human skull in someone’s carryon, it usually makes them a suspect for murder,” Gendry replied, monotonously. “For the gods sake, why in the seven hells do you have a _human skull_ of all things in your bag, Stark?”

Arya smirked in amusement. “Firstly, it’s _Dr._ Stark now,” she pointed out, just to rub it in. She was awfully proud of that “Dr.” prefix and she was going to use it whenever possible. “Secondly, I had it cleared in customs in Dorne so I’m not sure why security is giving me hell here.”

“Just because it was declared in Dorne doesn’t mean it’s declared here,” the security agent piped up from behind Gendry. “This also was not your first offense, Doctor.” He was obviously still offended by the kick to the balls Arya had landed on him.

“I did clear it for here, though,” Arya said, trying not to get worked up.

“She did,” remarked Gendry, closing the file he had pulled out to read. She presumed it was hers. “If you’d checked before calling me, you’d have seen that she does have clearance for this kind of thing.” The security agent looked ashamed. Gendry stood up and leaned towards the poor man. In the quiet of the room, Arya could hear every word Gendry said.

“Don’t call me for a misdemeanor again, understand?” Gendry said in a quiet but serious tone. His words were simple and lackluster, but Arya could hear the threat behind them, and apparently so could the security agent, who gulped slightly and nodded. Gendry got up and motioned for her to follow, so she followed.

“Why did you threaten him like that?” she asked once they left the room. Her luggage was waiting for her at the carousel, another security agent keeping watch over it since she was gone so long.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he responded in a deadpan tone. Arya sighed in frustration. Gendry was a stubborn man, even more stubborn than herself at times, when they worked together, and Arya had the feeling that time hadn’t changed that, and her sudden departure made it worse.

“Your tone,” she pointed out. “I thought you were going to hit him for a minute.”

“You’re imagining things.”

“Forget it.”

As Arya expected, Dany was waiting for her in the arrivals area.

“What took you so fucking long?” she asked, embracing Arya as she reprimanded her.

“Got caught up again. Stupid fucking security didn’t bother to check my clearance, again, and pulled me into secondary, again, but this time they called the fucking Guard on me.” At this point, she was beyond frustrated. All she wanted was to go home, order in pizza, and cuddle with her dog while they watched television. 

“Shall we?” Arya asked, reaching to loop her arm through Dany’s.

“About that,” Dany said.

“What happened?” Arya knew her best friend enough to know something had happened and Dany could no longer drive her home. It had happened before; Dany had an old fixie her ex gave her, and she didn’t want to get rid of it after he died. It had been an incredibly rough time for her and she had attached herself to it and wouldn’t let it go, no matter how many times Arya pointed out all the dangers in driving a vehicle on its last legs.

“She broke down again,” Dany sighed. “She’s in the shop and Jorah said he’d do everything he can, but I don’t know, Arya. This might be it for her.” 

Dany looked so close to tears that Arya had to pull her in for a tight hug. From behind her, she heard Gendry awkwardly clearing his throat. 

“We’re having a moment,” she snapped at him. He may have been hurt, but there was no reason for him to be rude.

“Well, how are you planning on getting home then, m’lady,” he retorted, obviously as frustrated with her as she was with him.”

“Fuck off,” she snapped. They’d just take the train or something. It wasn’t like Arya lived in the middle of nowhere with no bus service.

“Is that any way to talk to someone willing to drive you both home?” he snapped back, and it made Dany look up at him properly.

“We can make our own way home, but thanks,” she told him in a tone Arya was very proud of.

“How are you going to do that? There’s not going to be any space on the train for that massive suitcase.” He gestured at Arya’s suitcase, which she only used for long stays, sitting a little ways away. 

“We’ll get a cab, then,” Dany retorted.

Gendry snorted in response. “Good luck to ya,” he replied, glancing at the long line of cabs and the even larger amount of people waiting to hail one for a ride home or wherever they were staying. Arya sighed and realized he had a point. She’d enlisted Dany in coming to pick her up since Robb was working overtime today and everyone else was too far away to get her, but had failed to acknowledge the fact that Dany’s car broke down once a week.

“Fine,” Arya gave in. “You can drive us, but _only_ if you stop being such a dick about this.”

“I think I can do that,” he snapped, reaching to grab her suitcase. Arya and Dany reluctantly followed behind.

The car ride was quiet, the tension palpable all throughout the cabin. Arya had chosen to sit in the back and Dany would have joined her if it wasn’t for all of Gendry’s tactical equipment, which was also in the back.

“Why do you have this?” Arya asked. “Aren’t you supposed to leave it at the office?”

“Never know when I’m gonna need it,” he replied bluntly. “Good idea to always have it on me.”

At that, Dany had sighed in defeat and crawled into the front passenger seat beside Gendry. 

They were driving for a good twenty minutes before Gendry’s phone rang. He started speaking and it took Arya a moment to realize he had a headset on.

“We’ll be there in ten,” he said before apparently hanging up and turning to Arya and Dany. “Change of plans; we’re going to a murder investigation.”

“Is that a good idea?” Dany asked. “We’re both civilians.”

“You may be civilians, but Arya is the new forensics person on the case and you’re the artist, so both of you will end up working the case at some point,” Gendry explained. “Might as well be there at the scene.”

Arya wanted to scream. She was exhausted and angry but she couldn’t go home yet for whatever reason. She wasn’t supposed to start until the next day, anyways.

Her brother, Robb, had gotten her the job as the new forensic anthropologist the second she graduated with her PhD. She’d been hesitant to work for them again, but he reassured her that she wouldn’t be out on the field; she’d just be doing lab work with him and his bugs. Between his connections and her own experience, she was a shoo-in for the position. 

Her plan was to finish her research in Dorne and then travel to Storm’s End and start as soon as possible. With Gendry as her partner, again, she should’ve realized that “as soon as possible” literally meant as soon as possible.

He’d always been like that; practical, punctual, and impatient. When something had to be done, he wanted to get it done, even when Arya tried to assure him that he had time. He was dedicated to his work, which scared her then and scares her more now. 

She sighed, leaning her head further back against the seat. Hopefully, this won’t take too long.

Crime scene set-up procedure hadn’t changed a bit from what she remembered. At the scene, Gendry shoved gear meant for the forensics team into her hands and instructed Dany to stay back. 

Behind the tape lay a corpse. From this distance, Arya could make out that the corpse was a woman, dead for days, but she couldn’t determine more. The body was face-down on the ground and there was no blood to be seen. 

Arya put on the gear Gendry shoved at her in record time and stepped under the tape with intent to get a closer look. Gendry followed close behind her.

“Hey, hey, woah, woah, woah,” someone exclaimed, and Arya looked up to see a tall woman at least a decade her senior running towards them. “What are you doing, Waters? You know there’s no civilians allowed in a crime scene. Get her out of here!”

Had Arya not said something similar to others countless times before, she might have been offended or angry at this woman’s tone and attitude. As it was, she bristled slightly. 

“This is Dr. Arya Stark,” Gendry introduced her. “She’s the new forensic anthropologist.”

“My apologies, Dr. Stark,” the woman apologized. “I’m Agent Brienne Tarth. I understood that you weren’t supposed to start until tomorrow.”

“So was I,” Arya replied, looking deeply into Gendry’s eyes in an attempt to intimidate him. He only smirked back at her and she scowled.

“It doesn’t matter much,” Tarth said. “You’re here now, so you might as well help.”

“Understood,” Arya replied, continuing on to examine the body.

The woman’s body had decayed significantly in the time since her death, which Arya estimated to be around five days. As such, there were no visible wounds on her body to the untrained eye, but Arya knew better. 

“What do you see?” Gendry asked from behind her.

“Not much,” Arya replied vaguely. “It’s difficult to see clearly without the proper equipment, so I can’t exactly determine much right now.”

“But?” he prompted.

Arya flipped the body over as best as she could with Gendry and Tarth’s help. Now, Arya could visibly see the multiple holes in the woman’s clothes and the dried blood that stained the front of her shirt.

“Well, fuck,” Gendry sighed. “Looks like we got a murder.”

Arya sighed. This was not how she wanted to spend her day.


End file.
